$300-million bond to rebuild Rhode Island's public schools is before the General Assembly

PROVIDENCE — Four years ago, Rhode Island voters approved a $250-million school construction bond to address decades of neglect, and what one official called a tidal wave of need.

Now, state officials are proposing a second, $300-million bond that would go before voters on the 2022 ballot. The bond would also provide incentives for early childhood education facilities, career and technical education facilities, and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) facilities.

The legislation, sponsored by state Treasurer Seth Magaziner, Senators Hanna Gallo and Sandra Cano, and Rep. Brandon Potter, also includes new incentives for energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements to public school buildings, and new incentives for school districts to hire local contractors and minority business enterprises on construction projects.

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In 2017, the state Department of Education commissioned an engineering study that identified more than 50,000 deficiencies across the state’s 306 public school buildings. Magaziner led the state’s School Building Task Force, which brought together educators, experts, and community stakeholders to develop a plan to rebuild Rhode Island’s schools.

The bond has allocated more than $1.7 billion to repair or replace 189 school buildings across 28 districts in Rhode Island.

Interesting new features: Here is what the new $189.5 million East Providence High School will offer

“Four years ago, we embarked on an ambitious plan to repair or replace every structurally deficient school in the state because all students deserve equal access to a high-quality education, and poor school facilities should not be a barrier,” Magaziner said in a statement. “Despite incredible progress in a short period of time, there are still thousands of children across Rhode Island attending schools that are old, unsafe, and poorly equipped. We need to continue prioritizing school modernization until all students in Rhode Island are attending schools that are safe, warm, and built for 21st-century learning.”

Communities are reimbursed by the state for school construction bonds based on their tax capacity and their level of poverty. The poorest districts are reimbursed at 96% while the wealthiest are reimbursed at 35%. With these new incentives, districts in the middle range can earn an additional 20% reimbursement.

The original bond funded a $189.5-million high school in East Providence that features 11 science labs.

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Pawtucket’s new Winters Elementary School, currently under construction, will feature sinks in every classroom for science experiments, an open ceiling so students can see how the building works, WiFi and wireless speakers in classrooms, and a water-filtration garden.

Smithfield renovated and expanded all three of its elementary schools, adding pre-K classrooms to the Raymond C. LaPerche Elementary School, and updating the cafeteria at Pleasant View, while also adding a new music room, media center, and gym.

Magaziner, who is running for governor in the 2022 Democratic primary, released a school construction progress report in March 2021 that outlined school construction projects to date throughout the state.

Linda Borg covers education for the Journal.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI General Assembly propose $300-million plan to rebuild schools